Frank Strazzeri

Most fans know Frank Strazzeri only as a pianist, a guy whose many trio recordings and appearances around the Southland find him mixing it up with be-bop, stride and swing rhythms all delivered in a cool, no-pressure style. As a sideman, the 62-year-old Los Angeles keyboardist has been seen with the bands of Charlie Ventura, Les Brown, Woody Herman and Cal Tjader. As an accompanist, he's backed singers including Billie Holiday, Joe Williams and Elvis Presley.

February 10, 1995 | ZAN STEWART, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; Zan Stewart writes regularly about jazz for The Times.

For connoisseurs of wine, 1945 is considered a great year. Bottles of that annum from such fabled French chateaux as Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux and Latour are regularly sought out as treasures. 1945 was also an extraordinary year for jazz, as be-bop innovators Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell began making the giant musical strides that have had an impact on all forms of jazz and popular music since.

February 10, 1995 | ZAN STEWART, SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; Zan Stewart writes regularly about jazz for The Times.

For connoisseurs of wine, 1945 is considered a great year. Bottles of that annum from such fabled French chateaux as Lafite-Rothschild, Margaux and Latour are regularly sought out as treasures. 1945 was also an extraordinary year for jazz, as be-bop innovators Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell began making the giant musical strides that have had an impact on all forms of jazz and popular music since.

Distinctive works of art often arise from the strangest places, and two new recordings by pianist Frank Strazzeri and tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, best known as straight-ahead, be-bop-based improvisers, attest to the fact. Strazzeri's album "Woodwinds West" (JazzMark Records) features the three saxophone-woodwind front line of Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper and Jack Nimitz playing succulent Strazzeri originals and versions of standards.

When left to his own devices, pianist/composer Frank Strazzeri--an adaptive fellow who has backed everyone from Chet Baker and Stan Getz to Elvis Presley--most always returns to the be-bop-based jazz that has long been the foundation of his craft. That was how it was Wednesday at St. Mark's in Venice, where the compact, soft-spoken artist led a first-rate quintet in a "live" recording session for the Fresh Sounds label of Barcelona, Spain.

It was Blue Sunday at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa for the Pacific Jazz Festival's second day, as blues performers Robert Cray and Etta James each lifted the small crowd to its feet. Happily, the sonic problems of the first day were largely resolved, though there was volume to spare when it was needed. James accompanied her hot-and-nasty vocals with suggestive moves around the piano and wild-eyed, dramatic pauses. Backed by an eight-piece band that tracked her every step and provided punctuation for the singer's strong ways, James roamed the stage with abandon--taunting, crying and raising her voice in anger.

Distinctive works of art often arise from the strangest places, and two new recordings by pianist Frank Strazzeri and tenor saxophonist Teddy Edwards, best known as straight-ahead, be-bop-based improvisers, attest to the fact. Strazzeri's album "Woodwinds West" (JazzMark Records) features the three saxophone-woodwind front line of Bill Perkins, Bob Cooper and Jack Nimitz playing succulent Strazzeri originals and versions of standards.

Niehaus, the respected movie music writer who first gained a name as a jazzman, took his alto sax out of mothballs for this, his first blowing date since the '50s. Of his seven originals, three were heard briefly in his score for Clint Eastwood's "Bird." Teamed with Bill Perkins on various saxes, Niehaus offers good, healthy, updated bebop, with a few arranging touches that avoid the rut of convention. Fine piano, too, by Frank Strazzeri.

Because most of Louie Bellson's Los Angeles appearances are made at the helm of a full orchestra, his six-day stand this week at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood is something special, with the virtuosic drummer leading an all-star quintet. For his front line he wisely chose Pete Christlieb, whose tenor saxophone has been a vocal point of the larger Bellson groups since 1967, and trumpeter Conte Candoli, who like Christlieb is moonlighting from the "Tonight Show."

Big bands dominate this year's schedule for the Hyatt Newporter and jazz radio station KLON-FM's Jazz Live at the Hyatt series, held Fridays (except July 9) from May 28 to Sept. 10. Highlights include fluegelhornist Art Farmer's tribute to the music of the late Gil Evans on July 30 and an appearance by Charlie Haden's Quartet West on Aug. 6. Gates to the outdoor amphitheater open at 6:30 p.m., with the first of two sets beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Most fans know Frank Strazzeri only as a pianist, a guy whose many trio recordings and appearances around the Southland find him mixing it up with be-bop, stride and swing rhythms all delivered in a cool, no-pressure style. As a sideman, the 62-year-old Los Angeles keyboardist has been seen with the bands of Charlie Ventura, Les Brown, Woody Herman and Cal Tjader. As an accompanist, he's backed singers including Billie Holiday, Joe Williams and Elvis Presley.

When left to his own devices, pianist/composer Frank Strazzeri--an adaptive fellow who has backed everyone from Chet Baker and Stan Getz to Elvis Presley--most always returns to the be-bop-based jazz that has long been the foundation of his craft. That was how it was Wednesday at St. Mark's in Venice, where the compact, soft-spoken artist led a first-rate quintet in a "live" recording session for the Fresh Sounds label of Barcelona, Spain.

It was Blue Sunday at the Pacific Amphitheatre in Costa Mesa for the Pacific Jazz Festival's second day, as blues performers Robert Cray and Etta James each lifted the small crowd to its feet. Happily, the sonic problems of the first day were largely resolved, though there was volume to spare when it was needed. James accompanied her hot-and-nasty vocals with suggestive moves around the piano and wild-eyed, dramatic pauses. Backed by an eight-piece band that tracked her every step and provided punctuation for the singer's strong ways, James roamed the stage with abandon--taunting, crying and raising her voice in anger.

The downstairs bar at Chadney's Restaurant in Burbank has the feel and the ambience of a '50s jazz room--dark wood paneling, mirrored walls and a cozy, club-like feeling. It was appropriate, therefore, that Thursday night's group--the Metropolitan Boptet--played a program dominated by mainstream pieces, many of them from the '40s and '50s.

Reviving a decades-old tradition of presenting jazz in the back rooms of restaurants is Amagi, a Sunset Boulevard eatery whose Wednesday-evening menu features jazz from trombonist Bill Reichenbach. "This is like a three-hour, weekly vacation for me," said Reichenbach after he finished a four-tune set of standards. "It's wonderful, a great break from the usual stuff."